Emergency Hand Surgery Won’t Stop Tom Morello

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello won't let a little thing like a fractured hand stop him from rocking.

Currently on tour with Prophets of Rage, Morello posted a picture of an open wound in his hand and revealed he was to undergo emergency surgery after suffering a fracture. But he added that he’d still be on stage in Sweden on Tuesday (Jun. 26). You can see the graphic image in his Instagram post below, which included the hashtags “#WeCantBeStopped,” “#DjangoReinhardtLives,” “#TheShowMustGoOn” and “#TheBionicMan.”

The band joined the wide range of artists who last week spoke out against the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which saw children being separated from their parents on the U.S./Mexico border and being held in detention facilities. The band tweeted: “Any system that tears kids from their parents' arms and throws them in cages, and justifies it with the Bible, is a system that has no right to exist! This system must be overthrown - we need a REVOLUTION.”

Morello himself later targeted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for proposed direct action, tweeting: “Ok people of good conscience & disgruntled vets I’m thinking of putting together a Children’s Liberation Army to take on ICE. WHOS IN?”

In a recent interview with Harvard Magazine, Morello recalled how he’d been inspired to form Prophets of Rage after seeing the headline “Donald Trump Rages Against the Machine” in 2016. Initially, “I did what any self-respecting pissed-off person would do,” he said. “I wrote a snarky tweet about it.” Deciding that wasn’t enough, he teamed up with former Rage Against the Machine colleagues Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, plus Cypress Hill rapper B-Real and Public Enemy legend Chuck D to form the band.

The Prophets of Rage complete their current European tour in Spain on Jul. 14, then commence a North American run on Jul. 22, which ends on Sep. 2. You can see the full list of dates on the band website.